Letter to the Editor: NRA solution has been shown not to work

Dec. 24, 2012

John Brower’s letter (“Vigilance Is the Answer Against Evil, Not Keeping Guns from Us,” Dec. 20) raises some interesting points in favor of unfettered gun ownership. I am not a gun owner, but I have handled and fired a variety of weapons.

I am in agreement that a firearm is a “tool.” It is a tool that has been designed, manufactured, distributed and sold for one specific purpose, and that is to kill. The act of killing another person may be an offensive or a defensive act. The point is that I do not know your intent, nor do you know mine. We typically assume the other person to be rational, until — after the fact — he proved otherwise. When a person snaps, his gun can kill. Guns do kill people.

I am not swayed by the quote Mr. Brower attributes to George Washington. In his wildest dreams, Washington could never have imagined the horror that modern weaponry is capable of inflicting in a matter of seconds.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome. We’ve tried it the NRA way. Does anyone really like the outcome we witness over and over again? Isn’t it time to try something different?